Suspending Disbelief

A bookish friend of mine (a person who is only a friend in the sense that we communicate online and commiserate over books) recently read a book that I love and well... let's just say she didn't enjoy it as much as I did.

And while I try hard not to take it to heart, it does have me wondering why she didn't like the book.  Specifically, why wasn't she able to get lost in it, like I was.

The thing is, in her review, she talks about a lot of details the book has: the magical characters use wands when they don't seem to need to, the prophesied main character seems to be insanely good at everything (she plays a perfect game of cricket when she just picked up the paddle), etc.

And these are all valid notes.  In fact, when I read her notes and thought about it, I realized that I had completely overlooked all of these in my own reading.  I was so immersed in the story that I didn't care about the little plot problems along the way.  I had suspended disbelief somehow and gotten lost in the story.

But, see, I care about plot problems, too.  The book Across The Universe by Beth Revis, had all sorts of issues that drove me CRAZY when I read that book (causing me to revoke its 'scifi' label), but my bookish friend read it and loved it.  None of its issues were a problem for her.

So what is it about a story that connects with our imagination, our heart, our deeper self, and has us clamoring for more, even when the story itself isn't perfect?  And why did I read the entire Twilight series, when there are several eye-rolling aspects of it that made me want to punch the wall?

The answer?  I really have no freaking clue!  I wish I knew, because that would be a freaking gold mine.  Not the sell as many books as Twilight thing, but the 'what makes people love a book despite all odds' thing.

Something I will be thinking on for a while, I can assure you.

I have not been writing over Christmas break.  I have been planning and stewing and germinating, but not writing.  Hopefully it will pay off when I go back to work next week.  Also, the Cuddlebuggery ladies are back from their hiatus, so I'll have like 6 more hours a week to write.  This is good.

One final thing, a present for the new year...

I now have copies of Aeris to give away, too!  I've still got a few copies of Compis audiobook left, if you want to get on board with a copy of both for free!!!  The audible books cost $15 bucks a piece, I think, so this is a pretty good deal.  And already I'm hearing rave reviews about my voice actor, so that's good, too.

Happy Reading and Happy New Year!